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The National Weather Service in Seattle has indicated that the Pacific Northwest is being overwhelmed with 2 layers of smoke coming from different directions due to wildfires in Oregon and Washington. It is worse than originally anticipated because there was a low-level system carrying coal power & smoke. A weather-service meteorologist, Logan Johnson said that there was a high-level breeze bringing smoke from the fires in Oregon. Actually, the Pacific Northwest was under a thick layer of smoke. He added that the smoke looks as it might be with us until the wind turns midweek. The smoke was acting like an atmospheric blanket and it was keeping daytime temperatures lower, but keeping nighttime temperatures slightly higher. It has indicated that a couple of uncomfortable warm nights are ahead for 85% for the residents of Seattle area living without air conditioning.

Johnson further mentioned that next couple of days might be hard to the people with asthma and other health conditions affected by bad air situation. He urged people to check on vulnerable friends and relatives, but people in the Seattle area are actually lucky as compared with those living closer to the fires. A fire-information officer with Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, Robin DeMario said that those wildfires already have burned tens of thousands of acres, continued to spread Monday, fueled by hot, dry weather. Heavy smoke from the fires was also hindering firefighting efforts with thick smoke in some areas. The air tankers and helicopters with water buckets were unable to be used. The one saving grace is the smoke and it has created a buffer between the sun and the ground which keeps the temperature slightly cooler.